


Memoria

by Kyu_Momo



Series: Memoria-Verse [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Because magic!, Bruce is in happy land, Dark, Demons, Demons Are Assholes, Gen, Horror, Hurt Tony, Just Cause I Can, Magic-y power, Nightmare Worlds, PTSD, Post-Movie(s), Protective Avengers, Suicide Attempt, Supernatural Elements, Team as Family, Time travel-ish...kind of?, Tony Angst, Tony Babbles, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony doesn’t know the other avengers are listening, Tony still has a secret, Tony thinks he's alone, Tony thinks no one will come for him, Torture, Trapped, creepy not-children, fluff at the end... because why not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-27
Updated: 2015-08-07
Packaged: 2018-04-01 11:45:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4018543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyu_Momo/pseuds/Kyu_Momo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony’s being held in a separate room from the other Avenger’s and not having a good day, to say the least. The people that captured them all figured, hey, wouldn’t it be fun to hurt the weakest-link and let the others hear him scream? What a great idea!<br/>...Or in which Tony babbles crazy-sounding things while being tortured and, to the horror of his teammates and enemies alike, it all turns out to be true.<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Trapped

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Added a few scenes /edited a bit in the first two chapters.

 

 

It had started out as a normal day, really.

A few meetings here and there, a few designs to scrounge up or equipment that needed to be fixed, tinkering and more tinkering, an accident, oh and another meeting, but this time the meeting was with Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Tony had been tempted to blow it off. He was usually tempted to blow off lots of things when he’d had an _accident_ , but for once Tony wasn’t in the mood for the fallout.

Once he had finally gotten there the meeting then began as meetings with Fury usually do.

“Stark.”

“Fury.”

Fury looked furious and the bitching-at-Tony commenced.

Tony generally didn’t know _exactly_ what the meetings were going to be about until a few minutes into one, but he had a good idea of what would come up.

_Never good enough, too slow, not a team player, arrogant, childish, not a hero, and unworthy._

The list could go on and on and frankly, Tony would have been happy with a good ol’ property damage lecture for once.

Once Fury was done being furious at him, after an hour or two of ranting, Tony would then leave Shield the same way that he had arrived: in his Iron Man suit. 

Since, for once, there was no other pressing business that needed attending, Tony was free to return to Stark Tower for more tinkering.

 

 

Glorious, _glorious_ tinkering...

 

He avoided the common floor.  Tony really wasn’t in the mood for chatting-up the other avengers. Hell, Tony wasn't in the mood for anymore chatting that day. Period.  

Sure, never let it be said that Tony Stark didn't love to chat, or snark, or blather on and on, as was his trademark--especially when it meant pissing off reporters and watching them try to stay in professional-mode-- but being bitched at by Fury _again_ for, ahem,  _not being good enough..._ Well,nowadays that was starting to becomeenough to kill the mood to further socialize. 

Oh who was he kidding? He just wasn't in the mood for another lecture from Steve.

 

 

A few hours later Jarvis piped up with a snarky version of, really now, Sir... shouldn’t you be resting since you haven’t slept in the past 72 hours or so? Jarvis also mentioned something about needing to eat and drink to stay healthy.

And then a few more hours later...

“Jarvis, I swear to God if you dim the lights _one_ more time on me I’ll find new and amazing ways to mess with your coding and make your AI-life miserable...”

“I look forward to it, Sir.”

Tony had grumbled something unintelligent at him and went back to tinkering.

 

Even _later_ still the Avengers were called on to deal with an emergency, because of course there was an emergency again and Tony could never just tinker in peace.

Steve had been yelling at him over the coms.

Tony translated the words to mean: _Never good enough, too slow, not a team player, arrogant, childish, not a hero, and unworthy._

To be honest, Tony didn’t even remember what the emergency was anymore because when he had finally gotten there everything had gone dark soon after.

 

Go team.

 

* * *

 

 

The room was large. It looked like something out of a prison movie just with more white metal, electricity, and goons.

Thor, Bruce, Captain America, Black Widow, and Hawkeye.

There they all were in the aforementioned room, separated by a few feet, and each one surrounded by metal bars. They were those big, clunky, metal-looking kind of bars that were spaced tightly close together so as they couldn’t even put a hand through and if they tried they’d get a nasty electric shock for their troubles. They could at least see and talk to each other though, so there was that at least.

Bruce was as high as a kite. Or at least it seemed like it. The goons had to have given him something for the way he was acting.  Bruce was all bubbly and happy _._ No really.Bubbly, happy, and Bruce Banner slash The Hulk is generally not something that ends up being said in the same sentence. And yet there he was, bubbly, happy and regaling the team with stories of rainbows and puppies and how _happy_ he was.

For a man that was technically a God, Thor was acting a lot like a tired-mortal right then. He lay on the floor and didn’t move much unless it was to blink, but he was awake and lucid at least.

“Okay so... how did we get caught by these idiots again?” Hawkeye drawled from the floor of his cell. He had joined Thor in laying on the floor and relaxing, ‘cause hey, it’s not like there was anything else to do.

“Good question. Any takers?”  Black Widow sat cross-legged in the middle of her cell with her arms crossed.

“Mmm... It’s so pretty up there...”

“Any _other_ takers? Cap?”

Captain America was pacing in his cell.  “The civilians had been evacuated but there was no sign of the reported threat.” Steve sighed and shook his head, clearly frustrated. “It suddenly got dark.  When I woke up I was here.”

“Yeah, same here. Hey man, you alright over there?”

It took a few moments for the God of Thunder to respond, “I have... never before felt such fatigue....”

“They probably did something to you too, then.”  Clint said, frowning.

“Keep us posted, Thor. If you start to feel worse then let us know.”

“I... I shall...”

The question hung in the air but no one actually asked it until a man, presumably the evil leader or something, sauntered into the room with an entourage of bodyguard grunts.

“Where is Iron Man?” Steve demanded.

“Well then! Straight to the point. I like that.”

“...Yawn.”

The guy looked like a stereotypical mob boss.  Tux. Cigar. Hired muscle holding guns. The works. He gave a pointed glare at Clint then turned back to Steve. “I think you can guess by now that we want information. Information that only you Avengers can provide.”

“We’re not telling you anything.”

“Mm. We figured we should save ourselves trying the usual interrogation techniques with you lot. Lots of stories about you famous heroes, you know. It would take a _lot_ of time.”

“How about you just let us go then?” Hawkeye drawled. “It’ll take no time at all.”

The man laughed. “I think I’ll try to be patient just for you. I’ll be turning on some entertainment for you soon.  Let me know if any of you change your minds.”

Mafia-boss-man sauntered back out of room with his hired help.

The Avengers quickly learned that their white prison had impressive speakers installed when his first scream rang out.

And that one day of screaming soon evolved into weeks...

 

* * *

 

 

_It had been long and dreary day and he was so sick and so tired and he actually gotten a few hours of sleep for once but it was noisy now... and fuck that noise was still talking at him insistently so Tony blinked a few times to glare at the noise and..._

_Steve was there. Steve wasn’t looking at Tony. Steve was looking at Tony’s Hulk night-light._

_He made sure it was something goofy and ridiculous so he had a way to laugh it off if his team ever asked about it ...if they were even in a position to be in his room... and they **were** now and so Tony could laugh it off and it would be fine._

_There needed to not be total darkness. Total darkness meant Dwellers. It meant Memoria. It meant horrible pain and hopelessness and begging and tears and shame and he could NOT handle that again. It didn’t take long for Tony to realize he didn’t have much choice.  He could get a night-light like the useless, never-good-enough baby he had become... or he could go insane with fear and the chance of being snatched again.  The choice had been easy._

_After a long and thick silence, Tony had finally snapped at him, “What?”_

_“Er... I mean. I just...”_

_“Hulk brightens my night.  Isn’t he just the sweetest thing?” Tony had drawled._

_Steve had then given that exasperated look he gets before he went on to discuss the important matters that couldn’t wait and Tony knew he was off the hook for now. It was the “oh, he’s just being an eccentric genius again” look._

* * *

 

Tony had long since lost track of time.  The room was dark. Still?  Again? Had it ever not been dark? He couldn’t handle the dark anymore. He couldn’t do this anymore period.

Dark?  Pitch-black, inky, choking, so-thick, honest-to-god, darkness? No!  He needed to _not_ be in the dark. Right fucking now. Out.  Needed out of it. Out!

It all blurred and time moved on.

_Darkpaindarkpain_

“D’yu know... why I don’t like dark?”

The man stripped a thin layer of skin off his thigh and Tony gurgled and whimpered and moaned.

“No. But please... do feel free to enlighten me, Mr. Stark.”

“Mm... mmmk...  You know... I used to get triggers... like.. from ‘ganista... Af... hnn!”

 

Another strip.  The man was being lazy and slow.

 

“Afghanistan?”

“Mmhmm!  That’s ‘a one...”

“Yes, we know all about your stay there, Mr. Stark.”

“Yeah, well, I used to get panic attacks about that cave. But I don’t anymore, you know? Something even worse happened. It was so much worse... ‘stan just seemed so tame and peaceful all of a sudden... So now I get panic attacks about _that_ instead. I never thought I'd say this... but I miss 'stan panic now...” 

“Oh?” The man laughed, rolling his eyes. “Is that so?”

The next strip was larger.

Tony screamed and gurgled.

 

* * *

 

“I don’t remember when I saw it. But it was really weird lookin’ you know... No hair. Naked. Really,  _really_ dark skin.  Like actually black! ... **not** brown...!  I can’t stress this enough. Pitch black.”

“Mhmm.”  They had gotten used to his insane ramblings by now.  Stark screamed. Stark talked. On loop. Over and over.  They just did what the boss instructed them to. The guy had gone a bit out of sorts after all these weeks.  It was to be expected.

“It was also really thin. Like disgustingly thin and spindly.  Really long too.  Ew.  Anyway, something that long and thin shouldn’t be so strong.  It’s cheating!”

The man found it amusing, to be honest.

“So did it have red eyes and claws too?” Asking questions got Stark to continue. Again, it was amusing. The thrashing and screaming was fun too, but he was starting to have more fun with the stories.  The broken guy was funny and a good story teller.

“How’dya know?”

The guy laughed and rolled his eyes, pressing the button.

Stark jerked and shrieked.  The guy laughed some more.

 

* * *

 

“I put up a fight... as much as I could, anyway. I was out of my suit. Jarvis didn’t say anything.  I mean, I realize now he probably didn’t even think to say something ‘cause by then it was already too late. Didn’t have time to. Hell, I didn’t even know it was there for the longest time. I think it was just waiting in the dark watching me for a bit when I finally saw its eyes.  Hey, don’t laugh!  It was really creepy!”

“Sure.”

“It laughed too when I freaked out.  And good God... what a creepy laugh.. It was like a little kid’s... just really high pitched and whiny... but its voice would break and get deep. And it kept doing that: kid-high,break, screech, deep, kid-high, deep over and over!  Mfh...  Don’t laugh...”

 

* * *

 

“Turns out those thin,black,clawed-thingies were one of the most common lurkers of that place.  I called 'em Dwellers. Chime, thought it was a funny name. I asked her what they were normally called and she said something like  ‘names are both a privilege and a weakness.  My tools do not need them.’”

“Imagine that.”

 

* * *

 

The pain continued. The dark continued.  There was no end in sight.

“You are alone here, Stark. No one knows you were taken.  No one even knows you are gone.”

Pain... 

Screams...

Pain..

“Of course not.  I’m not surprised."

“Just tell us what we want to know and then the pain will stop, I promise you.”

“You guys are really bad at this, you know.”

“Oh?”

 

They were good at causing him pain, but he’d never admit that out loud. Tony was only human, after all.

 

“Yeah.  You see... Chime? That’s what I called it anyway... It didn’t have a name and I had to call it something. “

Tony screamed and thrashed.  The man was impatient and angry and wanted answers.

Stark laughed though.

“You’re doing it wrong. No, really. Listen. You are.”

“And pray tell how am I doing this wrong?! I am not wrong! I am never wrong! And you WILL tell me what I want to know.”

“You see?  That right there. It’s wrong. Chime didn’t _want_ anything from me. No!  Nuh uh. Listen. This is important. Okay, fine. Yeah, the lesser ones fed on pain, sure, I grant you that, but no... no... not Chime.  She did it because it was  _fun_. She was the boss of the place. She could do whatever the hell she wanted and there was not a damn thing anyone could do about it.  I was completely _helpless_. You know how much that pissed me off? You know how _terrifying_ that was? And mercy? Hah!  What the fuck does that even mean!"

The man stilled briefly, frowning, but seemed to be humoring Tony at last.

“Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t admire that thing. I _loathed_ it. But... fuck... even I have to give the thing props, okay?  ‘cause you people are so pathetic... Acting like you can actually hurt me... I'm _embarrassed for you_."

The man was barking orders again. Furious. 

Pain. _So much pain_. They were so impatient!

 _Really, you would think that even people as dumb as these idiots are, would have realized by now that_ pain _was not going to stop_ Tony fucking Stark _from talking!  I was always snarking at_ that thing... _even when it had had me curled up in a ball and bawling  ... Even then... So, what makes you think that_ you  _can do what even_ she _couldn't?_

"Chime had me pissing blood, crying, screaming, _begging_ it to stop in less than a week and it just _laughed_ at me and made that nasty place start crawling with more pain than I could handle... Oh, it always stopped and gave me a break when I was about to die, but that’s beside the point. What’s with that look? Like I said, they feed on pain!  Sheesh, are you brain-dead twerps even listening? News flash! it's kind of pointless to kill your only food source quickly and have to hunt for another one when you can just make your source last as long as possible by giving it food, water, and a break now and then."

_So dumb!  How are these idiots still alive?_

Tony couldn't help but laugh at them through his own screams.

"The point is... it’s been a week already, guys.  Chime let me walk around her place cause there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to get out of that world. You guys had to stick me in a room and tie me up.  See?  Big difference.  Now, Chime?  I was, am _still_  terrified of that thing. You know how embarrassing that is to admit? It took ages for my shrink to get me to admit it!"

"Oh... oh right... That's another good point. I even caved and see a shrink now."

Tony was laughing so hard at it all that he was in tears. 

"Not even ‘stan got me to do that!"

Nothing was wrong with that, though. If you find something funny then you should be allowed to laugh about it...

"You guys will never be able to top that. You won't be able to break me.  You won't be able to hurt me.  Really, you might as well stop trying."

The group was laughing at him now and the boss got right in his face and snarled, "News flash, Genius. We _are_ hurting you."

Tony hadn't screamed quite that loud in a long time, actually... He still wasn't going to admit that to them though.

Anthony Edward Stark still had _some_ pride left, thank you very much.

* * *

 

_“Tony?” The syllables tinkled in that deep, chime-like voice. “Hmm... Really now? You don’t look like a **Tony** to me, human.”_

_“I find that offensive.”_

_“I don’t see why. It is fact.“_

_“You mean opinion! It’s your opinion!”_

_Even crawling along the pasty, bleeding, off-white flesh of the ground, Tony refused to stay quiet._

_“You don’t look like anything except human. Humans have no need of names and yet they label themselves with a weakness anyway.  Names have **power**. ‘Tis a power born for bending and thus you humans open yourself to that bending. I now have power over you with that name **. See**?”_

_It hadn’t been the first time but it certainly wasn’t the last time that Tony had screamed himself hoarse through a demonstration._

 

* * *

 

_“That’s **not** a baby. Baby’s don’t look like... that...“_

_Tony was exhausted.  He crawled away from the thing as much as he could until even that was too much to bear and his body gave out completely. All he could  do was stare, tremble, and cry as the thing approached him._

_“And yet it is not fully grown. What is one to call something of that ilk, if not, ‘baby’? It needs quite a lot more to nourish such youth.”_

_It was close enough now, that Tony could see the needle-like claws and teeth, could hear its child-like voice, and its throaty clicks of hunger._

_Tony may have managed to fend off a few Dwellers earlier (there **were** trees, grass, and rocks here. Nasty looking ones, sure, but it was still something he could build a makeshift axe out of...whenever they let out enough light for him to see, that is.) but the fight had cost him a lot of strength and blood. As he was now he was too exhausted to even move let alone attempt to fight off this new monstrosity. _

_“No... No more... Please...”  It had begun to play with him by then and Tony screamed and screamed. “I can’t take this anymore..! Please stop... Please!”_

_As always, Chime just laughed._

* * *

 

_Eventually Tony had gotten used to talking to himself.  Talking. Hearing his own voice.  If he didn’t even have that much to focus on then he’d lose even more sanity then he already had._

_“Tony, no. Uh uh. **Listen** to me. Listen, okay? The **worst** mistake you could possibly do at this point is to think ‘this is not real.’ Understand? You think that and it’s already over and they’ve won. You’re already dead you just don’t know it yet.Think. You’re a genius. Act like it! Don’t give up! Don't let them win!"_

* * *

 

The insane stuff that came out of the man's mouth was spooky and entertaining. A thought just occurred to him though...

“Hey, you keep going on and on about this Chime thing but you’ve never described what it looked like.  So, what’s it look like?”

“I don’t know what its real from actually _looks_ like, per se.  Chime said I couldn’t handle its real form and so it took on the guise of something it thought I’d be able to handle. Hey, whatever, man. Don’t give me that look.  At that point I was smart enough to take its word for it, _okay_? The other times I didn’t and asked for proof ended up real fucking bad for me. So don’t give me that! ... But I can tell you what the form I saw looked like.  She, it... whatever... looked like a seven year old girl.  Hey! What did I just say?  Don’t give me that look!  Anyway... Black hair. Red eyes.  You get the idea.”

“Pfft. Lame.  What about the clothes?”

“Just this ugly little blood-stained white dress. No shoes. No socks.  Oh and the dress had this fucking frilly crap on the skirt.  Bleh. On another note, it started out as just a voice in that place I’d hear echoing all over and then I dared it to show itself ‘cause I’m smart and so it did, but not... Ugh!  Anyway, girl thing showed up and then I had the brilliant plan of not believing it was human.”

“Why didn’t you just attack it then?”

“Uh, Hello?  It looked like a little kid!  I wasn’t going to waltz up and try to strangle some girl that could have been in the same boat as I was! 'sides you don't cross that line. Hurting kids crosses a line. That's bad. Anyway, as I was saying. Chime started to talk to me in its _real_ voice then. Oh, and also?  It grew some claws on that tiny-little-brat-hand and then rammed it into its chest and pulled out a shriveled little heart. Wasn’t even beating.  I think I fainted. Probably did.  She was sitting on my chest when I woke up. She still had a bloody hand-claw-thing though so I knew I didn’t dream it up. She told me... oh wait... The voice.  I forgot to describe the voice.  It was really tinkle-y and shrill, and bell-y but it also had static hiss and deep growl to it.”

“Lame.”

“Oh, shut up! Anyway, it was chime-y at times so I started calling the thing Chime. Okay? Okay. So! It was sitting on my chest and it was hard to breathe and then it told me, and I quote, ‘One such as I hath no need for a heart.’ Don’t you just love ye-old-speak?”

At that point another man barged into the room and yelled at the current interrogator for not doing his job.

A new interrogator showed up from then on.

The break from pain had been nice while it lasted.

 

* * *

 

_It was dark!  He couldn’t see anything!  Tony stumbled in the dark, sometimes walking into objects and clinging to them like a lifeline until he was attacked by them and the objects moved away to laugh at him as he writhed in the agony they had caused._

_He still could hear them. He just couldn’t see them. Tony stumbled often. He walked as far as he could anyway. The dark was all around him and he was lost and helpless and starving and hurting and he couldn’t find a way out!  He couldn’t protect himself!_

_Tony needed his suit.  He would be able to see with his suit. He’d be able to fight them then._

_Tony was helpless and the Dwellers took perverse pleasure in reminding him of that every waking moment._

_Sometimes the pain would come when he hadn’t even heard their claws or their whiny, kid-like voices. He realized soon after too many of those times that he could hear them only when they **chose** to be heard._

_He tried to fight them. They laughed as he stumbled and fell._

_Tony tried to not give in._

_But sometimes he just couldn’t take it anymore and then he’d curl up into a ball, lost and alone in that dark hell of constant pain and terror, and he’d sob and shriek and shiver in anguish all the while **begging** them to just kill him already._

* * *

 

“I think I was there for years... Chime kept telling me whenever a year had passed so... I guess I had to—mmgh! Ah...”

This man knew that Stark was out of his mind by now.  He didn’t encourage him like the other had. He had a job.  He’d do it. Better than being killed for negligence.

Unfortunately his work still didn’t stop the billionaire from talking. If the interrogator hadn’t been given strict guidelines for his work then he would have cut the obnoxious fool’s tongue out and saved himself the headaches a _long_ time ago.

“Now that I think about it, I never told you how I got out of there did I... Ugh! Nn...! hah... hah... well, I... hah... You know, I think it must have been an accident on Chime’s part...  It had to have been... ‘cause...  Aghh! Hah! ....nn... That was... the worst part was... Unghh! They never knew I had been gone... Only a second had passed in this world. I... needed...but they... aaaghh!  mhh...! nn...”

It seemed the only time Tony Stark truly stopped talking was when he had passed out.

 

* * *

 

Tony Stark was a  _genius_.  Even when his body was failing him... even when it was becoming so hard to keep reality straight... One part of his mind was still whirring and active and  _lucid._

One part was aware that he was babbling at and telling his secrets to these fools.  That he was incoherent, his thoughts rapidly straining, failing, coming out as chopped-up bits of vague data instead of the ever-cohesive whole... That his body had failed him long ago and had completely succumbed to the pain...

That part was also furious.  This was all just so pathetic and unfair... He hadn't gone through and survived what he had survived only to succumb to such  _incompetence_...

 No, If Tony Stark was to end then it had better be flashy, with a fucking huge bang!  Not like this. Not trapped in a cupboard, abandoned, and left to waste away in obscurity!

_The physical limitations of the human body are so unfair...  You hear me, body? You have no right to feel any pain caused by these **fucking ants!** Its disgusting! It's betrayal!_

Tony really liked that part of his brain. It was a total bro.

 

What came next was in a choked whisper, husky and raw, "...After what those things did to me... After what that _bitch_  did to me.... You normal,  _frail_  little humans... Oh No...  You will  _never be able to hurt me enough_... Never again...  _Never again!_ "

 

* * *

 

This routine of talk and scream had continued for too long. It had been a _month_ and the other Avengers had still not talked!  He didn’t think it possible for them to be heartless. Giving in after a few days or right off the bat was the cliché!  Why couldn’t they just stick to it!

Hell, Stark himself was too far gone into insanity that the hope of getting a decent answer out of him was long gone. The mob-boss was beside himself with rage and fear and his backers were finally getting impatient enough to issue an ultimatum. Apparently S.H.I.E.L.D was closing in, and they’d have his balls in a noose if he didn’t give them something today. Anything.

But the other problem was that they wanted Stark _alive_.  How the hell was he supposed to get answers out of the others if he couldn’t kill the weakest of them to break the others in the first place?!  They also said it was "too risky" and "not worth the money" to try interrogation on the others.  The man gripped and tugged at his hair in frustration.

So he was at wits end when he entered Stark’s cell and was more than ready to get his hands messy.

Speaking of messy, the Avenger was a mess physically. If the boss were a lesser man he might have actually cared at how run-down Stark had become.

The boss expected more insane babbling about monsters as soon as Stark had gotten used to the sudden light.  What he got instead was a surprise.

The man, was beaten, bruised, but noticeably unrestrained.  Tony had his arms folded comfortably and he was sitting in the interrogator’s chair.

Stark’s eyes were also red.  The boss blinked a few times to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. The boss then pinched himself too when the first few blinks didn’t work and then he noticed he was gawking much like a deer in headlights might if they were not deer.

Okay.  That happened.   Stark’s eyes were now red. Maybe it was just blood in his eyes or something? Given the treatment of the past month it wouldn’t be much of a stretch.  Whatever.

The rest of his brain sluggishly informed him that he should be running now because the man he had hired for the nitty-gritty work was in pieces and those pieces were now splattered all over the tiny room.

“Hello,” Stark greeted.

Stark wasn’t quite frowning at the boss but he didn’t need to be.  Stark’s eyes said predator.  Stark’s eyes said ‘I’m going to tear you in half now and you’re not going to say no because there is not a damn thing you could do to stop me even if you did’ and the boss realized that he was now very, very frightened.

The boss let out a few manly squeaks before finding his voice.  His brain was screaming at him to _call for security you idiot_ or _runrunrunawayrun!_ Instead his mouth moved and he said something that his brain refused to believe was still relevant, “You...You never did tell us how you had escaped.”

The blood was actually dripping _up_ through the air now; the individual droplets were rising from the puddles one by one. It was as if gravity had stopped existing there. The puddle on the floor soon became squiggly, writhing puddles _around the air_ in the room, droplets joining into larger droplets, floating around and coiling and grasping.

The blood in the boss’ legs started to feel hot and bulging and running way too fast and oh, how it stung and burned...

“Now you know.”

The man was only aware of his final wheezing breaths when he realized his legs had been blown clean off _and pain!horriblehorriblefireypain_! and his neck was being twisted...

"For all that bitch went on about not having a heart... that wasn't enough to stop her from bleeding out like a stuck-pig when her time came. How does one bleed without a heart? ...Demons. Go figure."

Then he knew no more.

 

* * *

 

 

_They never knew I had been gone... Only a second had passed in this world. I... needed...but they..._

Steve swallowed thickly, forcing down bile when another heart-wrenching scream tore through the room.

_“Is this real?”_

_The Avengers had been helping themselves to breakfast when the billionaire had staggered into the room.  The man was disheveled and bloodied and Steve was immediately right there in his face and simultaneously barking orders and questions. Stark was an obnoxious, arrogant man but he was also a teammate and hurt and Steve cared enough to find out what had happened and help his fellow Avenger._

_After a few minutes Stark had gone into hysterics and they had taken him to the hospital._

_The Doctor told them Stark’s symptoms in a desensitized business-like manner._

_Dehydrated. Malnourished. It was possible that he had been hallucinating or in a state of panic but there were no traces of alcohol or drugs._

_Weeks had been needed and used for rehab. Eventually when Stark had been lucid and calm enough to answer questions he had just told them he had been kidnapped and left it at that. Eventually after putting up with more of his child-like behavior and constant brushing-off the rest of the Avengers had left it at that too._

 

* * *

 

 

 

“Where am I?”

“Where do you think?”

There was a buzzing sound again but Tony made no sound this time.

Though they could hear choking and coughs.

 

“Who are you? I’d appreciate an answer.”

 

More buzzing.

 

 

 

Steve was promptly standing and at the ready when a scream tore through the room- _that_ _was not Tony’s._

“Wha-... what the hell are-“

The stranger’s scream was even _louder_ this time. And then all was silent.

“Well, it’s rather obvious I’ve been kidnapped again.  No reason to leave you alive, whoever you are. ” They could hear Tony gasp and then he was suddenly breathing heavy, wheezing breaths.  “Whoever...you... are?  Hah.. hah...nn! Calm down... calm down...!”  Tony let out a few wailing sobs. “You’re not there _... You’re not there_... ! Calm down, Tony...!  You killed it.... It can’t hurt you anymore... You’re... ss...safe...” The sobbing continued for a few more minutes and then there was nothing but abrupt silence. 

 

* * *

 

What felt like hours later the double doors exploded inward.  When the dust settled the door was in pieces and blood was suddenly lazily dripping from walls and ceiling and puddles were forming amidst the remains of human and door alike.

There was an almost simultaneous question the still-living members of the room asked or whispered.

“Stark?”

Tony Stark was on his knees, trembling, crawling really, into the room. His grimy shirt and trousers were soaked through with blood, his face and body was a mess of bruises, cuts and burns.

The man then stood, on wobbly legs, and leaned heavily on the nearest wall near the entrance.

The three goons that foolishly entered and aimed at the trembling man weren’t alive for very long. The silence that resulted was oppressive.

 

To say Steve was surprised couldn’t have been more of an understatement.  He was feeling a lot of things right now and he’d be lying if he said that fear wasn’t one of them. He was sure his comrades were reacting just as he currently was. 

Steve swallowed and reminded himself that this was Tony.  Just like Hulk was Bruce.

 

“Stark?”

The man turned his head and met the Captain’s eyes.

Tony squinted for a few seconds looking like he wasn’t quite believing what he was seeing.

“Cap...?” Tony’s voice was hoarse and barely above a whisper but Steve heard him.

“Yeah, Tony. I’m here.  We all are.”

“Is this... real?”

Steve had to fight to keep his own voice steady when he responded, softly, “Yes, Tony.  This is real.”

 

Tony frowned, “You’re trapped.”

Blood was flung. Metal bars broke.

Tony smiled, lazily blinking back tears,“You’re not trapped anymore. Are you... sure this is real?”

“Yeah. This is real.” It was Natasha who answered him that time. “Somehow.”

They made no sudden movements.

“It’s going to be okay, Tony.”

 

Tony shook his head as if in denial before he lowered himself, curled into a ball on the floor, and started to sob.

When he was gently pulled into an embrace sometime later, Tony flinched at first but then he was sobbing into Blue Kevlar instead of his own arm.

Some part in the back of Steve’s mind noted that Tony’s eyes were back to their normal color now before he focused entirely on checking injuries and whispering what he hoped were comforting words into Tony’s ear.

To his surprise, Natasha and Clint joined in. Clint had a reassuring hand on his shoulder and Natasha was leaning her head against his back.

Now that the negative energy in the room’s cages was offline, Thor was also recovered enough to sit up, so the God of Thunder had indeed sat up. Thor now kept a silent Vigil all the while looking to be near tears.

“It’s going to be okay, Tony...”


	2. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers decide that enough is enough.

Steve hadn’t wanted to admit it at first but now that the evidence was staring him right in the face he had  _no choice_  but to acknowledge it.

The Council had reacted to Tony’s ‘new found’ power even  _harsher_ than they had reacted to The Hulk’s and sure, Steve had wanted to believe that Fury had tried his absolute best to protect Tony as much as he could... but at the end of the day it didn’t seem like Fury had tried all  _that_  hard to keep the billionaire from what was obviously a pristine and heavily reinforced prison cell in all but name.

Yes, the medical wing for the Avengers in Shield Headquarters was now the most  _heavily armed floor_  of the entire structure.

It also became equally apparent that Stark would  _only_ calm down enough for treatment when one of the other Avengers was present; the first group of medical doctors had all but pissed themselves until Steve had arrived and sat next to Stark’s bed.

And then the sight of the restraints digging into Stark’s skin and the man in tears and all but  **begging**  for Steve to ‘ _help me PLEASE! Don’t let them hurt me! I can’t handle this!_   _No more... please_!’ had actually sent Steve into an honest-to-God  _rage_ that left the medical staff much worse off than just pissing themselves.

And if they had thought that  _Steve’s raging at them_  had been bad enough then they were in for an even more wonderful surprise when  _Bruce_  had been brought up to speed.

Suffice it say, from then on it became an unspoken rule that Stark would not have visitors unless one of the other Avengers’ was present.

 

 

* * *

 

 

They had found the woman that Tony had hired to be both his psychiatrist and his therapist.  Tony hadn’t lied about that either, Hell it was becoming apparent that almost everything out of Stark’s mouth at that time had been the truth. He’d been seeing the Doctor for psychiatric treatment for several years now.

She was there speaking with Tony and he seemed lucid and relaxed enough to answer her. Captain Rogers was also there, sitting in a chair and reading something that he wasn’t quite in position enough for the camera to see. He hadn’t wanted to intrude on Stark’s privacy but the man had insisted.

Thankfully, Tony hadn’t known that he was being watched by hidden cameras and neither were any of the other Avengers.  If he had known then Fury had no doubt that the man would have cut himself and then promptly destroyed them or one of the other Avengers would have broken it or shot it with an arrow already... Seeing as how the cameras were still intact and doing their jobs, Fury figured that was enough evidence that the hidden cameras were still hidden.

“I want to go home...” Tony pleaded, “I want to go home already, Shrink Lady...” 

Tony never referred to the woman by her actual name.  Not even her last name.  Doctor Madeleine Fringes explained that names made Tony very uncomfortable and at worse times had been enough to trigger panic attacks. Thankfully Tony was comfortable enough with her that she could call him by his last name without him triggering.

“I know, Mr. Stark. I know. They are only worried about you.”

“No they aren’t! They’re worried they can’t control me! And they can’t!  They think I’m going to lose my shit and explode anyone that burns my coffee or so much as looks at me wrong!  I’m not!  It’s been years and I haven’t hurt anyone!  I want to go home! I just  _want to go home_!”

Steve was at his side and holding him before the Doctor could even get another word in.  Fury had never thought he’d see the day when  that arrogant pain in the ass was vulnerable enough to cry, let alone burst into tears  _daily_...  The sight was still enough to make Fury uncomfortable.

“Shh... easy Tony... Easy... I’ve got you.  I’m here.”

Unlike Doctor Madeleine, Stark seemed to find comfort when the other Avengers said his name.

“They think keeping me locked in here will keep them safe?” Tony sobbed brokenly into the Captain’s chest.  “They aren’t safe even with me in this tiny little room and those thick reinforced walls and all those guards.”  And suddenly Tony was shouting and hysterical. “You think that wall is enough to save you!?  If I’d wanted you dead you’d be in pieces already, you assholes! Let me out!  Let me out! I can feel your blood humming and screeching at me and all I have to do is twist it and you’ll all explode!  I know you’re all there!  Every single fucking one of you!   **LET ME OUT!”**

Fury felt the rush of anger and terror  again when he saw that Tony had cut himself and blood was spurting and being flung at the door and then the door was _shattering_... How many times did he have tell them before they listened!?  No sharp objects were allowed!

Even long after the sedative had been administered and the good Captain was rubbing soothing circles in the man’s back and Tony was soon relaxing into him and passing out, Fury still felt himself shivering with that cold lump of dread.

 

* * *

 

It'd been a few weeks since the Avengers had been taken and Shield had all but scrambled, blindly, to find them. Hell, to find who had taken them to begin with and _how_ and still hadn't managed anything on that front either...  Shield hadn't even succeeded at anything worthwhile this past week because apparently Tony Stark, resident Genius billionaire and useful-thorn in his side, had suddenly been able to slaughter the entirety of their heavily armed captors as if they had been  _cattle._  The council had kittens and puppies and tantrums when they had learned of it.  Nick Fury scowled at the memory and brought a hand up to message his temples, this early in the morning and he already could feel a headache coming on.

The paperwork was due to fall off their desks at this rate, it was piling so high.

The worst part?  The worst part was that The Council, and by extension, Fury, still didn't even completely understand the full implications of what that new power of his could do. They were still being surprised!  

Though, to the council, the worst part was that Tony had had that new-found power for a long time without Shield even being aware of it and the Council was _still_ pushing to have him caged and quartered like an animal.  As if that would do anything to keep them safe if it all went to hell and Tony went out of control, so fuck....  He could understand where they were coming from...

Legally?  They couldn't do any of the shit they wanted to without reason but they sure as hell were trying to get away with it anyway.  Also legally?  They couldn't straight out murder the guy either just because they were afraid of him.

This was one hell of an unknown to have sprung on them all and they were ill-equipped to deal with it. That much had become obvious when it became known just how much Tony was holding himself back right that second.

Most of the surveillance cameras had not survived the assault on the captors that Stark had dished out on them, but a few of them had, and well... _shit..._

The evidence was damning and the Council was screeching at the top of their lungs all the 'what ifs' they could think of.

 

Blood being wrenched out of bodies and then flung around. Bone, muscles, tissue dissolving, no, _shattering_ into thin air somehow, without a trace, and no they still had no idea how.

Only their bloody clothing had been left... So much for identifying any of them.  Hell... even dental records would have been _something_.

 

Blood forming into bladed points midair and being shot around with even more speed and effect then the fully-automatic sea of bullets being shot at Stark. Bullets bouncing off a bloody, translucent force-field around Stark...

Full-grown-men being effortlessly cleaved in half by said midair projectiles or beheaded...or their hearts being flung out of their chest and slopping down walls...

Surfaces that couldn't be dented much by _even a full on car-crash---_  having red flung at them from across the hallway by a man still-using-walls-heavily-for-support and that was still just _standing there_  and _looking bored by it all---_ before promptly shattering as if they were suddenly made of glass...

Stark hadn't even needed to _see_ the mooks with guns either.  From what little information they managed to gather, he was dismembering them even if they were hiding behind walls and out of his sight. It was like he could sense where they were just by the blood pulsing through their veins.

The red glowing eyes of doom were definitely unsettling as well...

 

So yeah, he was in control of himself right then because if he wanted to, it was becoming increasingly clear that God knows how many people he could kill before they could take him down.   _If_ they could take him down. And that was not even including the added threat level if he wore the Iron Man suit while using that new power of his to do the deed...  The damage that Iron Man alone could inflict was bad enough to fathom but adding this on top of that?  Nightmare scenario.

The council was happy to bring it up as many times as they could.

 

It would take a hell of a lot of cooperation and there would be an incredible number of potential lives at stake... frankly that possibility was unacceptable and hard to stomach...

It would probably take the Hulk.  Would the Hulk even consider it let alone act on a termination order of Stark if it came down to that and he was asked? They couldn't control him and he doubted the Hulk would actually follow the Councils orders at this point even if those orders were to come out the mouth of Captain America.  And after watching that exchange down there in Stark's little cell, Fury doubted that Captain America would even issue them to begin with unless the circumstances were already dire.

Still... It had to be considered.  Would Tony be able to defend himself against the Hulk?  The Hulk technically had blood in him but his skin was impenetrable... Surely The Hulk would win if it came to an all out battle between the two...

 

 

Either way this was like the Council discovering the Hulk all over again.

The Hulk had suddenly dropped off the radar and stopped being THE  _thing_ for the council to bitch about. Instead of all the screaming for 'cage that-green-thing-that-we-can't-control' it had become: 'cage-the-human-genius-billionaire-that-we couldn't-control-before-and-sure-as-hell-still-can't-control-now!'

 

On another note....

Tony Stark hadn't exactly been a paragon of mental stability to begin with and he sure wasn't now, if even that much.

So, yes, he could, theoretically, go off the deep end. Fury didn't exactly agree with the council's demands but he didn't actively disagree with them either...  The other Avengers would, to put it bluntly, react _poorly_ if they knew even half of what the Council wanted to be done about this _new problem_ that Stark had become. It was all Fury could do to keep the likes of Romanov and Barton off that particular trail, but who was he kidding, them finding out the dirt was only a matter of time.

The Avengers would react even worse when they realized that Fury actually agreed with some of those decisions. They were for the best and potential casualties could never become an issue...

The _media_ would go absolutely shitfaced if it knew even half of this. Perhaps the Council would gain a whole boat load of supporters...

 

This whole situation. Just...

 

_Fuck._

 

* * *

 

 

It was embarrassing really, how long it had taken them to realize that Tony  _didn’t need_  sharp objects to make himself bleed.

Blood was his ammunition.  He could yank it out of people with enough force that they'd explode. Two plus two equals four. It wasn't that hard to yank it out of _himself_ too when he got desperate enough.

Tony Stark truly had been humoring them and now Tony Stark had escaped.

 

The alarms were blaring.

Orders were being belted out and midnight staff were panicking, and bustling, and being evacuated. Movement and noise were all around.

 

 

The door of Tony's room was in thick, jagged strips of broken metal and was still dripping blood from the same power that had reduced it into a gaping hole large enough for the man to pass through.

It was even _more_ embarrassing, really, in how much time it had taken them to find him and how easily the man, outnumbered as he was, had disappeared through the chaos for that long.

 

Tony had somehow found himself some spare clothes too.  The hospital gown was still in that room and covered in blood after all. It wasn’t anything fancy.  Just slacks and a rumpled t-shirt, but still...

Their Surveillance cameras had been destroyed too. 

ALL of them. 

 

The power had gone out and so the armed men were forced to use night-vision goggles and laser sights and lots of caution and military protocol.  They could see his glowing red eyes watching them in the dark and knew that he was calm, much more calm than he had any right to be given his current position.

Stark hadn’t killed anyone. The man had introduced any that had gotten in his way to a rent piece of metal door and sure they had been wounded but he had not killed them.

Even now they were aiming automatic weapons at him and felt their blood boiling but he was not killing them.

A random SHIELD surgeon was behind the armed entourage and he peaked out briefly, because really he should be safe behind these highly trained professionals,  and almost lost his brief stint of bravery when he saw  _those eyes_.

“Mr. Stark.”  The doctor paved onward trying his best to ignore the way those eyes faltered and the man flinched.  “Please return to your room now.”

“Am I still sick, Doc?”

“Well, uh.. that is...”

“I’m not sick. I’m not hurt anymore.  I’m going home.”  Stark tried and failed to keep his voice from cracking.

The military took over by then, shouting orders and threats.  Hands on the wall.  Do not resist and we will not be forced to use drastic measures. The usual.

Stark was near tears but they didn’t fall.

“I’m not going back.  I’m going home.” The man’s voice finally cracked and the tears came, burning and stinging and horrible...

“Hands on the wall. Now!”

Tony backed away slowly, shaking his head, desperation and despair and hopelessness warring in his eyes.

“Why won’t you people just leave me alone already?”  Tony squeezed his eyes shut briefly, brilliant-red-crimson flared and oozed with tears. “I want to go home... Just let me go home... please...”

 

And then they were suddenly there, between him and the armed soldiers.

 

 When had they gotten there? Tony was so tired of this...

 “No... no... not you guys too... Please... I want to go home... I just want to go home... Please...”

“Shh... we know, Tony,” Natasha had whispered, holding him steady. “We know.”

 

“Captain America. Avengers.  This...  _man_  has not been cleared.  He is to remain in custody until-“

“This  _man_  is coming with us.”

“Captain, I have orders to-“

And again, Captain America interrupted, “Tony is leaving. Right now.  _With us_.”

Tony was now trembling so hard that both Thor and Bruce stepped in and held him before he fell.

“Be at ease, my friend.  All will be well soon.”

“We’re here, Tony...”

And Clint was yelling, Tony hadn’t noticed at first but now he had and tuned in enough to hear the next words, “Yeah, well we’ve had it up to here with all of your bullshit! And so has he!  You wanna stop us?  Go ahead.  It’ll be fun watching you try.”

“We’re taking him home now.  We should have taken him home a long time ago.” Cap’s tone brooked no argument. “Now move aside people, or so help me God, we _will_ make you.

Quiet happened.  Movement also happened.

“Cap, I don’t think he can walk...”

“Alright.”

And then Steve was holding Tony’s trembling body in his arms and the Avengers were leaving and Tony was so overwhelmed he could barely speak.

Disbelief at first, then gratitude and warmth and hope and.... Tony buried his face and then let it all out.

“Shh... It’s going to be okay now.   _We’re taking you home_.”

 


	3. Aftermath 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nasty Nightmare.
> 
> Shameless fluff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Mention of attempted suicide.

How _low_ would he have to get before it finally became too much to endure?

Tony wasn't sure how long it had been but if ever there was a time for suicide then now would be the time...

After, when this had all passed and Tony had realized that he was still alive... Tony would have felt the guilt then.  

The shame.

The humiliation.

To think that he had fallen so low...  Gotten so desperate... So pathetic...  How could he ever look anyone in the eye after this?  What had been done to him...

But right then, in that moment... trapped in that hell with no end in sight...  there was no room for shame. He could not handle this anymore and that was simply a fact.  The pain.  The fear.  It was  _too much_  to bear.

 

If they would not grant him death willingly then he would  **make them** **.** They wouldn't even realize they had killed him until it was already too late.  And hopefully he'd be able to see Chime's reaction when she finally realized that she had been outwitted by the tiny little worm she always strung up and tortured and looked down on...  

Revenge...  It would be so sweet...

Tony was a genius though.  He knew this was selfish and cowardly. He had gone through as many of the possible scenarios and consequences again and again and again... But the fact that he could not possibly handle another second of this torture was inescapable.  Could this really be endured anymore? No! No... even the thought of more of this was too much to handle.

He had waited. Tony had waited! They had more than enough time to find him by now. It had been almost five years already! The truth of the matter was plain as day ...but Tony had long since forgotten what the light of day actually looked like so maybe that wasn't the best phrase to use... Still.

The truth: Tony had been  _abandoned._ Nobody was coming for him. He was entirely alone.  ...And that was entirely his own fault.

Why?  Because Tony Stark had a reputation for selfishness and self-destruction, of course!  Might as well just give in and let them be right...  it's not like they could see him now anyway... Not like they would miss him...  And the rest of the team could easily pick up the slack.  They could fight this thing if it came for them... Easily...  Right?  Yes...  They had to. They would. They could.

And so... he turned up the Stark bile and spewed it forth with intent.  Tony baited Chime.

Poked the dragon.

Played with fire.

Baiting Chime: snark-ing and sarcasm, challenging her authority and power and pretending she was nothing but a speck of dirt... Chime was a prideful, arrogant creature so she had not taken that lightly in the past.

All of Tony's trademark sass and anti-authority attitude had been an easy recipe to elicit Chime's wrath and the bringing of unbearable pain that no human could possibly endure... Tony had long since learned not to poke at the demon with taunts and bravado because  **that pain** was not something that even Tony could bring himself to joke about. Even thinking about it sent tremors down his arms and legs.... the mere thought of it was enough to make him want to curl into a little ball and  _sob_ **.**

Why had he stopped baiting her so easily?  Because Tony was a lot of things but he was _not_  suicidal.

_Until now, apparently._

Tony was terrified of it, of course he was, he knew the pain would be coming when he got started... Once he riled her up enough....  The hard part was going to be to keep it up... To keep right on taunting and belittling even when he wanted all that agony to just  ** _stop_... ** When his own body was betraying him and dying and convulsing... When his mind could barely string one-plus-one-equals-two...

This wasn't going to be easy... but it needed to be done for peace. For sanity... He had to save himself somehow. There was no one else here to save ...so he was allowed to be selfish and save  _himself_ instead... Right? Wasn't he?

 

_Enough._

_Enough thinking._

_Whatever will be, will be._

 

 _"_ So... How long did it take you to get on that pedestal of yours?  Surely you had to suck up to someone to get where you are now... I mean really... You can't possibly be the only one of your kind.  I bet  _you_ are the worm compared to them. Come on!  Tell me the truth!"

Her eyes had appeared somewhere around "You can't possibly" and she opened them fully by the end of this next sentence.  Tony instinctively did not meet that gaze of hers, instead choosing to stare to the side and keep right on talking as if she hadn't made herself visible to him.

Tony was a genius. It had quickly become obvious that thinking, even for a brilliant mind such as his, became  _impossible_  if he looked into those eyes. Something about that gaze had force... a presence that sent his body into convulsions and his mind shattering from sudden mind-numbing fear. So? It was easy-peasy to avoid as long as he wasn't dumb enough to look at them.  Problem solved!

"What game is this?"

"Come on... No use hiding it.  I'm onto you now. I bet you're the lowest rung on the latter! It's okay.  You can admit it. No shame in it," Tony shrugged.

The eyes were glowing so bright a red that Tony could see the tinged light blooming outward even in his peripheral vision. Yup.  She was getting pissed. It didn't take much, really, once you found the right button to push.

 

"How is it... that you  **still** do not know your place? I thought I taught one such as you at least that much! Surely such filth is capable of at least that by now!"

The volume and weight behind her voice was starting to sting his ears.  

"Look. I know it's hard to accept but it'll get easier. Hey, I was powerless once too, you know. Maybe if you ask them nicely, politely! -- They’ll give you some of their power so you can climb up in rank a bit.  I know being polite is beyond your tiny amount of power, but I'm sure if you work at it long enough even you can manage enough of it to get a promotion... or least get laid.  Freaks like you get laid, right?  I mean... c'mon... Don't leave me dangling here... A life without sex is just downright terrifying! So, how are you in b-"

A truck-sized hand grabbed him, lifted him, and then slammed him into the ground all in the space of an eye-blink. Tony coughed and wheezed as the breath was wrenched out of him and pain spiked up and down his back. Tony forced his eyes closed as quickly as he could when his mind sluggishly realized that her eyes were suddenly inches from his, right there, looming in front of him. Forcing down tremors and bile were all he could think of for a few minutes after he got his eyes shut. Tony fought to keep control.

 _ **"Be silent! You know of nothing!"**_ Chime roared, voice a mix of bell-toll, chime-peal, hissing, guttural deep, earth-shaking vibration, and unnerving twangs. _ **"...disgusting, insolent filth!"**_

_Keep talking... Keep going... Don't give up.  You can do this..._

"You're not fooling me. You can act like you’re tough shit when it's only me here, but I know you're just a peasant on the power scale.  Do they flaunt it?  Do they laugh at you? Do they remind you of how  **weak**  you are compared to them at every opportunity?  I bet they do, don't they? I sure as hell would."

**"Silence, filth!  One such as you has no right to question one such as me!  You will know your place!"**

There was no warning. There never was. 

It was absolutely unbearable, the immense pain exploding through every inch of his flesh, inside and out. Sweat streamed down his face and down the sides of his heaving chest as the painful waves coursed through him without the slightest pause. Thought fled. He moaned softly, desperately, his throat felt so tight and raw that he could barely stomach the thought of even a whisper.

It went on and on. Time had lost meaning.

It usually did.

Had Tony finally gone insane? Why had he actually wanted this?  Why would he want something as horrible as this?!

 

Tony was shaking and convulsing uncontrollably, shivering and twitching, spasms shooting through his restrained muscles. His body writhing as his head thrashed limply back and forth, his breaths coming in harsh gasps. His mouth was open, his lips quivering, saliva dripping down the sides of his mouth.

Again there was no warning.  It left as quickly as it had come.  Tony had no idea how long it had even lasted. Five minutes? Ten?  Twenty?  He had no idea.

The tears came and sobs wracked his body when that hand keeping him pinned,  **squeezed** **.**

"Clearly I was wrong to assume one such as you could actually learn. It seems I must make sure and teach you well this time.  Tell me, runt, have you learned your place yet? Or do you need yet another lesson?"

_No! No no no please.... **no more!**_

_Yes, more. You won’t give up, remember?  You need peace. **Death** is peace._

_All the good things are worth fighting for. This is worth the fight._

“...So... I was right...I mean, You...  get so angry so easily. ...Even I have better control over my temper than you do.  That’s just... pathetic.... Do they think that’s pathetic too?  I bet they do... ‘How unsightly you are, Chime!’  Or something like that?”

_Again...  It was happening again..._

_He couldn’t handle this!_

_Why...  Why?!_

It came faster and faster and faster and there was nowhere to run to.  No way to escape it. He could only lie there and take it... but he _couldn’t_.  He couldn’t take it anymore! It was too much!

_StopStopStop....please stop...!_

_“ **You know nothing!  Nothing!  They too, are fools!  They have yet to see me for my brilliance! I will tolerate this no longer from them!  And now to have it from one such as you!?  Unforgivable! Filth! Fleshy filth!  You are but food!  Sustenance for my brood! I, I am the one, NOT them, to have no need for such feeding anymore.  They still rely on filth! I am the better! You are ALL beneath me!”**_

Tony couldn’t control his body. He couldn’t think...  Everything was on fire... Breathing was impossible... Body was shaking and twitching...

Writhing... Tears... too much... Wave after wave.... too much!

_End... Please end! Please... please just end already...._

_No more... Please...  No more!_

_Die... just die... please... NO MORE! I can’t bear this anymore!_

* * *

 

 

“Tony?  Tony, wake up!”

And further away... Natasha, Bruce, Clint, and Thor... All in varying states of disarray and varied sleeping attire... They all came?  Tony’s vision blurred.

Steve Rogers, ever the patient man, just held him as he cried.

“Sir, you are presently in your room at Stark Tower. Time is Five-Twenty-Three AM. Date is August Third—“

“T-thanks, Jarvis...”

“My pleasure, Sir.  And might I add, again, that I am very glad that you have returned.”

“Thanks, J. Again. Good to be back,” Tony cleared his throat, taking a deep breath.  “Right... uh... right then. Sorry about that.”

“Not your fault,“ Clint huffed.

“Do not apologize, friend Stark. You have triumphed over the otherworldly powers that have done you ill. We will be here to see you triumph over this new battle...”

 “Don’t look at us like that... When we said that we were here for you, we _meant_ it Tony.” Bruce smiled.

 “And no, before you ask, _we don’t_ _mind_.  And yes, we will keep doing this until you are comfortable in your own home.”  Natasha had to be psychic. She may deny it, but there was truth in that and Tony would prove it someday...

“Psychic,” Tony informed her.

“You’ve expressed those concerns on more than one occasion. I don’t need to be psychic to put two and two together.”

“Still psychic...”

Natasha rolled her eyes, lips quirking upward.

Steve took that time to pull back and carefully looked Tony over.  “Want to talk about it?  Might help.”

Tony leaned against Steve’s shoulder and mumbled, “Mph... Talking this early is evil.”

Thor smiled warmly, “A daunting task indeed! Perhaps then, we should partake in breaking of fast, in preparation for taking on such a dire foe!”

“Well... when you put it like that...”

Breakfast was, as Thor had put it, ‘a glorious event to be boasted about to all that would hear it’ and afterward they were all comfortably seated in the living room. There were many sofas and armchairs strewn about around the large entertainment center. And the TV, as Clint had put it, way back when, was “Whoa... it’s huge!  Think we could crush a bear with that thing? I bet we could.  Let’s test it out!  I’ll lure the bear. You guys tip it over. It’ll be awesome."  Natasha had muttered, "My bet's on the _bear_..."

 

They never pushed him. They never prodded or demanded answers. They let him talk when he felt ready.  And if he didn’t, they didn’t make a big deal about it...

Pepper and Rhodey had visited a few times too.

Tony was starting to wonder what he had done to deserve them all.

 

“It was reliving that time... Right before... You know? When I inherited her power...”

Steve and Bruce winced. Thor frowned. Natasha and Clint looked a tad murderous.

“As in, when she went all kamikaze-nuke on you and then somehow failed miserably? Talk about explosive overreactions,” Clint chuckled. “Dumb broad. Wish she was still alive so I could arrow her stupid in the eyeballs.”

 If Tony’s shrink were here she’d probably be chucking ‘Subtlety, tact, and sensitivity for dummies’ books at Clint’s head. But Tony actually preferred Clint’s particular brand of blunt, and hell, Tony himself was usually throwing subtly and sensitivity out the window. Who had time for that shit 24/7?  It wasted a lot of _time_ especially when weaving around corporate bullshit. Faster to just say it right out when it was needed.

But most of all Tony hated being treated like glass even when he _felt_ like glass... They had an understanding there.

That didn’t stop Steve from frowning disapprovingly at Clint though. It also never stopped Clint being a mother hen right along with the rest of them when nightmares reared.

Tony huffed out a shaky laugh, “Yeah... That. I still have no idea how it transferred.... I don’t even remember most of the aftermath.  I just knew she had blown most of her brood to kingdom come and that her remains were starting to fuse back together by the time I came-to.”

“Creepy bitch.”

“Tell me about it...” Tony shrugged. “I remember bits and pieces.  She was pissed and _alive._ I reacted. I could actually _fight_ her... I didn’t even need to move... it just... _happened_ and she was being injured... and pushed back and then...”

“Then emotion happened too and revenge was fucking _sweet_.” Clint suddenly clapped his hands together as if taken by a sudden revelation. “ So... how _much_ blood was there when she finally croaked? ”

Steve frowned and glared.  “Clint...”

“You said she confirmed the existence of others of her kind.  Do you remember more of that?” Bruce cut in.

“Ah... a bit. ...speaking of which. You know... I was just using it as a way to piss her off.”  Tony huffed a laugh. “The thought had occurred to me... but I really shouldn’t have been so surprised when it turned out to be true.  I mean, of course.  Fucking _of course_ there would be more of them and of course she wasn’t the strongest of them. So freaking typical.”

“Yeah, figures. Well, if they make a stink we’ll kick their asses together. That’s all there is to it.”

“ _Smash_ ,”  Natasha supplied.

Bruce rolled his eyes. “I’m sure the other guy would happily oblige.”

 

A beat.

 

“So.”

“Movie?”

“Sure. I’m game.”

“Works for me.”

“Fine.”

“Movie!”

“Mhmm.”

“Okay, movie time. Which one?”

“Just pick one.”

 

Another beat.

 

“Still too early... _Evil.”_

 _“_ Maybe we should just dump ‘em all in a bin and then take turns picking one each day. Holy shit that’s awesome.  Why did it take us so long to think of it?”

“Too much effort.”

“Ugh, that would take forever.”

“Wake me up when you pick one.”

“Let us prepare movie delights as well!”

“Popcorn!  Hell yeah!”

“Long as it isn’t sweet this time...”

“More for me then.”

“ _Us_.”

“Gah!  Heathens. The lot of you...”

“Star Wars?

“We are not watching Star Wars again.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Star Trek?”

“No.”

“No thanks.”

“Star...”

“Nope.”

“Tough crowd.”

“Guys, I think he’s...”

“Is he... holy shit he is.. How does he fall asleep so fast?”

“Because he’s still tired?”

“They _are_ very comfy sofas...”

“He’s got a lot of sleep to catch up on.”

“Aw... wish I had a camera...”

“What?  He might get cold.”

“I might partake, myself. Such soft, snuggly blankets...”

“You don’t have to whisper, Thor. Looks like he’s out like a light.”

“Wish I could do that.”

“Should we still wake him up for the movie?”

“If I may, I’d prefer it if you’d let Sir sleep.”

“We will, Jarvis.”

“Yeah, man. No worries.”

“We’ll still be here when he wakes up too.”

"Yup."

"Definitely."

"Count on it."

**Author's Note:**

> I've re-read this a few times looking for errors but i probably missed some. Sorry in advance. I'll check back later and see if I can spot anything. Also I suck at grammar. So there's that...  
> And I realize now that Bruce kind of got shafted in this. Sorry Bruce...
> 
> It's not the greatest but hey I still thought it was decent enough to be worth sharing.  
> I hope you liked it!
> 
> Inspiration List:
> 
> Music:  
> Nier OST: full track but especially 'Blu-Bird' , 'Snow In Summer' and 'The Ultimate Weapon'  
> Two Steps From Hell - various tracks: especially Starvation, Archangel (Female Vocal w Choir)  
> Donkey Kong Land 2 - Crocodile Cacophony Theme  
> Shiki ost - Eau De Vie  
> ZTS - worldenddominator, GoldenSlaughterer  
> Shadow Hearts 2 OST - The 3 Karma  
> Xenogears - Id's theme, and 'One who Bares Fangs at God'  
> The Birthday Massacre - "Red Stars", and "Goodnight"  
> Suicide Commando - Hellraiser (Psychopath 01-Version)  
> Biohazard Outbreak - Main title theme  
> FF9 OST - Memoria  
> Death On Glamour - Sad Of Dying Crazy  
> Silent Hill 2 - Where the Demon Sleeps OC ReMix  
> Persona 3 - Master of Shadow  
> RTPN - Awakening  
> Blue Stahli - Suit Up 
> 
> Writers:  
> Garth Nix  
> Jim Butcher  
> All the writers from here and lots of their various fics on Ao3: http://imaginetonyandbucky.tumblr.com/answeredprompts  
> haven't read ALL of them yet. (note the 'YET' part!)
> 
>  
> 
> !!ALL Monty Oum Animations!! and thus naturally "Red Vs Blue" and RWBY/RWBY trailers is included in this
> 
> Video Games:  
> Dead Space series (!!Brute necromorph introduction fight, Hive-mind, and tormentor-boss fight/encounters especially!!),  
> Silent Hill series, Dot Hack GU, Persona series, SMT series, Tales of the Abyss, Siren series, 
> 
> Fatal Frame series (oh Sae... I love your NA-version Great Hall scene laugh. It sounds like a scream OMFG but I also love your JPN version too and just LOVE all the Fatal Frame series encounters and boss fights...just... SO MUCH LOVE!), 
> 
> PT trailer/Silent Hills (RIP... I would have played the hell out of you if you hadn't been canceled), 
> 
> Final Fantasy 9, Kuon, Amnesia, F.E.A.R series, Parasite Eve, Killer 7, The Evil Within, Friday the 13th NES, Shadow Gate NES, Shadowgate remake
> 
> Various Anime scenes:  
> X tv/OAVs ,Beyond the Boundary, Black Lagoon, Shin Sekai yori, Mononoke OAV??, Mushishi, Shamanic Princess, Full Metal Alchemist brotherhood, Elfen lied, GaiReiZERO, Garden of Sinners, Red Garden, Puella Madoka tv and OAVs, DOT Hack GU OAV


End file.
